Three ways to kickstart the New Year

You stare at the calendar on the wall, your diary or now days on your phone, a little bewildered. How has another year passed? What happened to the good intentions of last year? There was so much to achieve. Instead goals were replaced with disappointment.

What will make this year different? What will propel you toward the future God has for your life? Why bother, I know that my good intentions will not get followed through into change, so why bother?

Perhaps like most, you have been working on externals, things like physical appearance, you want to shed a few KG/lbs or find a new job. Maybe you want have more time to relax, spend with the family. Teach yourself a new skill.

We all start out the New Year with good intentions, that this year will be different to the last. But if we are going to see change maybe we need to do things different than before, otherwise doing the same things as before will only results in the same end product.

So often we work from the outside the external to the inward the internal. To see genuine change, we must work on the internal. And as a Christian, it is more than an attitude change; it is a heart change.

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV).

What you believe in your heart determines your life, determines your future. Your friends, career, behaviour, family, values, all stem from what you believe. So if you want to kick-start 2015, we’ve got to get our believing right. Believe right and 2015 will start on the right foot.

Believe God is Good

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! (Psalm 34:8).

If you want a kickin’ year, you have to believe God is good. All the time.

You say, “But 2014 has been horrible.”

Was that God’s fault? Stuff happens, we make bad choices, and you know the devil loves to steal, rob and kill. He is the father of lies; he will try and tell you God doesn’t care. That’s a lie, “God cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Jesus came to give you abundant life (John 10:10). God is not out to harm you (Jeremiah 29:11). He is chasing you down with goodness and mercy (Psalm 23:6).

The Lord has been good to you in 2014. Perhaps it’s time to focus your eyes on the good he has done, and recognise His goodness in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13).

Believe You Are a Child of God

You are a child of God, bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19). Stop thinking you are not worthy. Your life is paid for by the blood of the Lamb. Walk in the authority and power of a child of the Most High.

And since you are His child, God has made you His heir (Galatians 4:7).

As God’s child you are an heir. Heir to His promises. Not just some of them, all of them. Do not settle for less. So often we believe that the promises only apply to other people, or only certain of them apply to me. There’s another one of those lies. God has no favourites. We are all equal in God.

Many struggle with being a child of God. But if you want to overcome; if you want to lay claim to all His promises, this has to be settled in your heart.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray or have a conversation with God, Jesus said, “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, Holy is your name…” (Matthew 6:9). Jesus taught us to come to God as Father. Without pomp or fear. Without pretence or shame. Come to the Father. It is the first thing you say in conversation with Him. And when you recognise Him as Father, you acknowledge yourself as child. Each time you pray, meditate on God as Father and your position as His child. It will make a difference, when we understand our relationship/position in God we realise that God is for us, with us, in us, working on our behalf. Do I need to go on?

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. START LIVING LIKE ONE!

Believe that You Define the Moment

Defining moments are moments in life that define who we are; monumental experiences of self-actualisation.

“Have I missed my defining moments? Is that my problem?”

You and I may have messed up; in fact I can pretty much guarantee we have! The problem is not messing up, but no getting up! If we are not careful we allow our failures to define our future. Paul says “Forgetting what is behind”. Let our past teach us not define us.

I came across a great quote over Christmas whilst watching a programme about Formula 1; Rosberg was quoting Michael Jordan the basketball player: “You miss 100% of the shots you never try.”

Life is never about one moment, or even moments. No. You define the moment. Life is a matter of choice. You have the potential to make moments monumental.

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Satan wants us to think our choices are limited. That we are trapped and small. God created thousands of good trees, and only one evil one. 2015 will present you with limitless opportunities. Don’t let them pass you by. Define the moment. Make your life extraordinary. Life is yours for the taking.

2015 can be your best year yet. Don’t just change your attitude. Change your heart. Believe right and get ready for an amazing year.